Biocrypt Digital Wallet

Abstract

A device and method for using biometric technologies to ensure secure transactions using blockchain technology are disclosed. The embodiments described mitigate at least some security related problems in conventional blockchain digital wallets, particularly those that cannot reliably authenticate user identity. The present disclosure presents a method and apparatus for using authentication and data protection for implementing a blockchain offline wallet using biometrics.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A device comprising: a processor in communication with a non-transitory processor readable medium comprising memory, a display, an input interface, and a biometric sensor, wherein the memory includes processor executable instructions that when executed cause the processor, to perform the steps of:
 a) acquiring biometric information from a user using the biometric sensor;   b) generating a feature sequence from the biometric information;   c) generating clue words from the feature sequence;   d) generating a private key from the clue words; and   e) storing the private key in the processor readable medium.   
     
     
         2 . The device of  claim 1 , further comprising a secure storage forming part of the processor readable medium, wherein the private key is stored in the secure storage. 
     
     
         3 . The device of  claim 1 , further comprising a hardware encryption circuit for performing one or more of step b), step c) or step d). 
     
     
         4 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the biometric sensor comprises a fingerprint reader. 
     
     
         5 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the steps further comprise:
 a) generating a checksum for the feature sequence; and   b) appending the checksum to the feature sequence.   
     
     
         6 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein said generating the clue words comprises:
 a) dividing up the feature sequence into a plurality of data-words; and   b) mapping each data-word in the plurality of the data-words into a mnemonic.   
     
     
         7 . The device of  claim 6 , wherein said each data-word, is mapped to its corresponding mnemonic using a table of mnemonics. 
     
     
         8 . The device of  claim 1 , further comprising a communications interface to communicate with a computing device, wherein the communication interface comprises at least one of a wired interface and a wireless interface. 
     
     
         9 . The device of  claim 8 , wherein the communication interface is said wired interface and comprises a USB interface. 
     
     
         10 . The device of  claim 8 , wherein the communication interface is said wireless interface and comprises a Bluetooth interface. 
     
     
         11 . The device of  claim 5 , wherein the step of generating a checksum comprises generating a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) checksum. 
     
     
         12 . The device of  claim 11 , wherein the CRC is generated using the generator polynomial g(x)=x 16 +x 15 +x 2 +1 
     
     
         13 . The device of  claim 13 , wherein the checksum is 16-bits and the feature sequence prior to said appending is 128-bits. 
     
     
         14 . The device of  claim 6 , wherein said each data-word is 12-bits. 
     
     
         15 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the steps further comprise: generating a seed from the clue words. 
     
     
         16 . The device of  claim 11  wherein the seed is generated using the PBKDF2 (Password Based Key Derivation Function 2) cryptographic algorithm. 
     
     
         17 . A method of securely generating a key using a device, the device comprising: a processor in communication with a non-transitory processor readable medium comprising memory and a biometric sensor, the method comprising:
 acquiring biometric information from a user using the biometric sensor;   generating a feature sequence from the biometric information;   generating clue words from the feature sequence;   generating a private key from the clue words; and   storing the private key in the processor readable medium.   
     
     
         18 . A method of initiating a transaction using a wallet device comprising: a processor in communication with a non-transitory processor readable medium comprising memory, a display, an input interface, and a biometric sensor, the method comprising:
 at the wallet device:   a) receiving a transaction request comprising an address and an amount, from a first computing device;   b) acquiring biometric information from a user using a biometric sensor;   c) generating a bio-vector from said biometric information;   d) comparing the bio-vector to a stored vector to authenticate the user; and   e) upon authentication, signing the transaction request with a private key having a corresponding public key, to form a signed transaction request.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , further comprising, transmitting said signed transaction request to the first computing device along with the public key. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 18 , further comprising, displaying the address and transaction amount on said display prior to said signing. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 18 , further comprising,
 receiving a personal identification number (PIN) after said receiving said transaction request; and   comparing the received PIN to a stored PIN to authenticate the user.   
     
     
         22 . A method of loading private data into a device, the device comprising: a processor in communication with one or more of a non-transitory processor readable medium comprising memory, a display, an input interface, a secure storage, and a biometric sensor, each in communication with the processor, the method comprising:
 receiving input indicative of a loading command from the input interface;   receiving the private data comprising a private key;   acquiring biometric information from a user using the biometric sensor;   generating a bio-vector from said biometric information;   comparing the bio-vector to a stored vector to authenticate the user; and   upon authentication, storing said private data in said secure storage on the device.   
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the private data further comprises an account address associated with the private key. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the private data further comprises an account address associated with the private key. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the device further comprises a card reader and the private data is received from a memory card via said card reader. 
     
     
         26 . A method of exporting private data from a device, the device comprising: a processor in communication with one or more of a non-transitory processor readable medium comprising memory, a display, an input interface, a secure storage, and a biometric sensor, each in communication with the processor, the method comprising:
 receiving input indicative of an export command from the input interface;   acquiring biometric information from a user using the biometric sensor;   generating a bio-vector from said biometric information;   comparing the bio-vector to a stored vector to authenticate the user; and   upon authentication, retrieving said private data from said secure storage on the device and storing the private data into the processor readable medium.   
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein said device comprises a card reader, and the processor readable medium comprises memory card received in said card reader, wherein storing the private data comprises storing the private data into the memory card. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 26 , further comprising:
 prior to said storing the private data,
 generating a bit sequence from said bio-vector; 
 generating mnemonics from said bit sequence; 
 calculating a seed from the mnemonic words; 
 generating a master private key with the seed; 
 encrypting the private key with a personal identification number (PIN); and 
 storing the private key as part of said private data.